Web-only letters to the editor

Dispatch.com regularly will post letters to the editor that don't make it to print in The Dispatch. Unlike letters to the editor that appear the newspaper, Web-only letters have not been edited.

Dispatch.com regularly will post letters to the editor that don't make it to print in The Dispatch. Unlike letters to the editor that appear the newspaper, Web-only letters have not been edited.

Parents' roles

The Columbus City School's poor performance isn't completely the fault of it's own bureaucracy. One of the biggest contrasts to suburban schools is the lack of parent involvement. Our children go to Westerville City Schools. When there are teacher conferences scheduled, you have to be quick to sign up in order to get a spot that works with your schedule. At our school in particular, most parents meet with their children's teachers and take an active role over the course of the year in their children's education. I have a relative who has taught in the Columbus system and is close to retirement. She has taught at what would be considered some of the worst city schools. When she has parent-teacher conferences, it could be considered a success if just one parent shows up over the two evenings they are scheduled. I am sure there are many parents in the Columbus school system who do all they can to support their children in school, but it is apparent the majority do not. For the majority, there is not much hope that children will buy into something their parent do not.

Greg Bouton, Westerville

Turning point

The city of Columbus is in bad financial shape. I have a solution: ticket all the (illiterate?) drivers who insist on turning at the intersection of Broad & High during posted No Turns hours. Last night, a driver was turning right from High onto E Broad and was not only turning illegally but also causing traffic in the bus lane to be held up while the turner waited for pedestrians to clear the crosswalk. I have seen drivers make left turns from High onto Broad, completely oblivious to all signs indicating that this is illegal. Pedestrians crossing High or Broad have enough to watch out for without these idiots turning in violation of the stated laws.

Sandy Buchwalter, Columbus

Trash talk

I believe in recycling.

I also believe that curbside pickup is not the best way to do it, although it is a start. The Mayor is right about how poor our current rate of recycling is and that landfill space, along with reclamation of raw materials, needs to be addressed. The truth is we would be much better off with an automated system, one facility that separates trash from each type of recyclable material. This solves a number of problems by saving fuel/time used by garbage trucks, and by claiming 100% of all recyclables throughout the city. Columbus can do better and this is how, because the raw materials have resale value, and like the mayor stated, we will save millions on landfill tipping fees. But we have to aim for this goal.

Kurt Dieringer, Columbus

Pitts column

In his column today, Leonard Pitts Jr. states that Andrew Breitbart exemplifies a "mean-spirited confidence" by "sliming" Shirley Sherrod for allegedly out-of-context remarks she made to the NAACP that Breitbart construed to be racist. Brietbart did this because he views life through a belief system or "narrative" that is "unsupported by fact" while others (no doubt Mr. Pitts) have their narratives sitting "atop a mountain of empirical evidence".

The problem is Shirley Sherrod goes on in her speech to declare as "racist" anyone who did not support the tyrannical collectivization of our health care. That would be the 70,000,000 or so of us who opposed Obamacare. This fits neatly into the liberal media's narrative that only people with white skin can be tarred as "racist" even as the Jeremiah Wrights and now the Shirley Sherrods of the world expose their own negative presuppositions. Mr. Pitt's narrative is itself not based on truth for he discusses only part of both Breitbart's video (Breitbart goes on to acknowledge Sherrod helps the white man despite feeling racial animosity toward him) and ignores the part of Sherrod's speech in which she smears as racist those who oppose Obama's policies. Mr. Pitts correctly evaluates himself therefore as imprisoned "by his own narrative".

Michael S. Neutzling, Columbus

Another 'victory'?

The DOJ has successfully stopped Arizona from enforcing its new immigration law. So chalk up another victory for President Obama, even if nearly 60% approve the law. It follows a pattern of doing things contrary to the citizenry.

He got his Stimulus Bill passed first, 23% think it helped and 43% think it hurt the economy. Then the Health care agenda was passed, 56% would prefer it repealed and 61% expect premiums to go up. Then eighteen months after the economic collapse the all important Financial overhaul bill became law. So important was this reform that 44% of those asked don't have an opinion.

Of course maybe it's the two-thousand page laws that turn the American public off. Maybe that when someone said "Change you can believe in" they did, but just not anymore. If you need proof 27% strongly approve of the Presidents job while 42% strongly disapprove.

The numbers are from the latest Rassmussen polls. Notice I used no hyperbole to make my point, wouldn't it be nice if politicians did the same to they make theirs.

John E. Sparks, Columbus

Breastfeeding in public

The scandal that surrounds public breastfeeding ("Breast-feeding in public still frowned upon, despite Ohio law") is exasperating.

Everywhere in advertising, movies and television, magazines, and online, women's bodies are displayed in lingerie, swimsuits, with plunging necklines, perhaps strategically covered by her hair or a sheet-but with exposed breasts. It's totally acceptable for the purpose of eliciting consumer dollars, but when a woman uses her breasts for their intended purpose, to feed her children, there is uproar. It becomes offensive or indecent or provocative, and she needs to do this highly private act while sequestered away.

The breast has been so sexualized by media that seeing it used for its intended purpose has become inappropriate. This mindset needs to change. Breastfeeding is not sexual or "gross": it's normal, natural, and arguably the healthiest option for babies. When a mother is in public and her child needs to be fed, is she supposed to ignore her crying hungry baby unless she finds a private place to nurse it? Likely the only available private place would be a bathroom-and not necessarily a clean or even marginally comfortable one.

New mothers have enough on their plates that they don't need condemnation from self-righteous strangers in public.

Molly Hendrix, Columbus

'Clean' energy

Together with several dozen other activists on July 28th, I marched down High St. to Senator Brown's office in an important show of solidarity with the purpose of maintaining pressure on our Senators in support of clean energy. By putting off any debate on a comprehensive clean energy bill until at least fall, the Senate is further delaying bringing over 1 million clean energy jobs to our country. Our march specifically addressed the collective voice of Ohio's college students who want to work in clean energy and we delivered hundreds of their resumes to the Senator's office, collected over the course of only a couple weeks. This outpouring came from students at Ohio State, Kent State, the University of Dayton, and many other universities around the state and their message was clear: our generation isn't going to wait for our energy future to be secured, we want genuine leadership on this issue and we aren't going to stop working until we get it.

Alice Liang, Columbus

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